Effectiveness of Computer-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation on executive functions of children with High Functioning Autism

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of computer-based cognitive rehabilitation on executive functions of children with High Functioning Autism. The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population of this study included all children with Autism Disorder in Markazi Province's autism centers including 46 children. From the target population, 16 boys with high functioning autism disorder were selected from Autism Charity Medical Center of Markazi Province using available sampling method based on Autism Spectrum Scale (ASSQ) (Ehlerz, Gillberg & Wing Lorna, 1999) and were randomly assigned to experiment (n=8) and control (n=8) groups. Initially, both groups were assessed by the Executive Functional Performance Rating Scale (Bariff, 2000). The experiment group received 10 sessions of 50 minutes computer-based cognitive rehabilitation during 4 weeks. At the end, both groups were reassessed. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance. The findings of this study showed that computer-based cognitive rehabilitation improves the executive functions of children with high functioning autism. Therefore, using computer-based cognitive rehabilitation can improve the executive functions of children with high functioning autism.